


Desiderata

by gentlemanjackedup



Category: Gentleman Jack (TV)
Genre: Anne Lister's Boots, Anne Lister's cravat, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Sex, F/F, Smut, hnng, ndlu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:41:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22190476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gentlemanjackedup/pseuds/gentlemanjackedup
Summary: A rare and exciting opportunity falls in the Ann(e)'s laps.
Relationships: Anne Lister (1791-1840)/Ann Walker (1803-1854)
Comments: 105
Kudos: 232





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to alisterscravat and firstdown for helpful beta reading and notes!

Ann hurried up the staircase at Shibden to the second floor. Her slippered feet skidded a little as she rushed to Anne’s study door, which was open a crack. Anne was seated at her desk, bent over her journal and writing intently. 

“Anne?” Ann was slightly out of breath as she swung the door wide open and stood in front of the desk.

“Mmm,” Anne murmured without looking up, dipping her pen in her ink bottle.

“Where’s Eugenie?”

Anne still didn’t look up, and sighed in exasperation. “I sent her into Halifax to wait for a package coming in with the high flyer today. Some special liniment for Aunt Anne’s leg. Dr. Day suggested we have it sent from York, but I don’t know if it’s going to do any—“

“When is the high flyer scheduled to arrive?” Ann interrupted impatiently.

Anne frowned and clicked open her pocket watch. “In about an hour and a half. I told Eugenie she could go early; she wanted to look for something to send home to her mother—“ Anne hadn’t finished before Ann had made her way around the desk, sat down in her lap, and started tracing the edges of her fine blue waistcoat. Anne reached around her to scribble another few words into her journal. “Ann, you’re making this rather difficult.”

Ann put her hands on either side of Anne’s face and kissed her, holding her fast after Anne tried to limit her to a quick peck on the lips. Anne batted Ann’s hands away. “Come on now, Ann, really. I’m just going to finish this sentence.” Ann turned slightly and plucked the pen from Anne’s hand with her thumb and forefinger, holding it above her head as Anne reached for it in vain, pinned under Ann’s legs. 

Anne scowled at her. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes,” Ann said emphatically. She set the pen out of Anne’s reach and bent her head down to kiss the sharp angle of Anne’s jaw below her ear. Anne’s chair creaked as she leaned back a little; she’d forgotten what the rest of the sentence was even going to be. But when she felt Ann take her hand and bring it to her breast, she sat up straight and glanced at the doorway. “Maybe you should shut the door,” she said, her voice thick. 

“Maybe you should shut up,” Ann countered, leaning into Anne again and pressing her against the back of her chair. She covered Anne’s mouth with hers and parted her lips invitingly, grasping Anne’s collar.  
Anne’s confusion cut through her arousal and she pushed Ann back by the shoulders. “What in the world has gotten into you?” she asked, taking Ann’s chin in one hand. 

Ann finally couldn’t help a mischievous grin. “No one else is home,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Anne shook her head to clear it. “What?”

Ann began ticking them off on her fingers. “Thomas took Aunt Anne, your father, and Marian in the carriage to pay call on the Waterhouses in Halifax. They’ll be gone at least another two hours. John Booth has taken Joseph down to the dentist. He has to have two molars pulled. They won’t be in a hurry to get there or to come back. Cordingley and Hemingway have gone to the market with a long list of sundries. And Eugenie, as you’ve just informed me,” Ann finished with satisfaction, her fingers reaching out to toy with Anne’s cravat, “is in Halifax waiting for the high flyer.” 

Anne stared at her for a few seconds and blinked. “So no one is here.”

“No.”

“Except you and me.”

“That’s right.”

Anne glanced at the open door, then quickly reached around Ann to close and toss her journal aside. She surged to her feet, tucking her hands under Ann’s thighs, and dropped her on the desk in front of her, thrusting her hips between Ann’s knees. She gripped the smaller woman’s sides and kissed her deeply, thoroughly, pushing her tongue between her lips, where it wrestled hotly with Ann’s. With a wet smacking sound, she suddenly pulled her mouth away and looked at Ann with a moment’s hesitation. 

“This… this is what you were implying, then, isn’t it?”

Ann laughed and leaned back with her hands flat on the desk behind her. “I thought you were supposed to be clever.” 

Anne didn’t bother to suppress a growl as she bent forward and kissed Ann’s throat. She felt one of Ann’s hands trail up the middle of her chest, tug on the ends of her cravat, and loosen the loops from her neck. Anne’s lips found Ann’s again, enjoying their warmth, feeling her smile against her mouth. Ann pulled the smooth cravat from Anne’s collar with a quiet swishing noise and dropped it on the desk beside her. Anne encircled her in her arms tightly, tilting her head to kiss her more deeply. Even with her arms tucked against the taller woman’s chest, Ann’s fingers were still making quick work of the collar buttons, her deft insistence quickening Anne’s blood. With a soft groan, Anne reached one hand down to the hem of Ann’s full skirt, working quickly underneath the layers.

“Wait, stop,” Ann said suddenly. Anne withdrew her hand and pulled back, puzzled and concerned. “I’m sorry, did that hurt?” she asked, her hand on Ann’s knee.

“No, no. I just realized…” Ann flushed and shrugged a little. “Well—we can be with each other in here nearly any time, with the door shut.” In the silence, neither woman bothered to point out that actually, they already had, more than once. Anne looked at her steadily for a short moment. “Ah.” She cleared her throat. “So…”

Ann hopped off the desk, took Anne’s hands, and backed up towards the door. “So… you can’t tell me there isn’t anywhere in this house you’ve thought of…”

Anne’s mouth went dry as a dozen images flashed through her mind. She absolutely had thought of it, in every room she’d ever been in with Ann, always at times when it was least feasible. Sitting across from Ann over a game of backgammon, watching her brow furrow before she moved her pieces. Stealing a chance to stroke Ann’s hand while her father snored in front of the fire. Feeling Ann settle her foot stealthily on top of her boot under the dinner table, all the while innocently engaged in pleasant conversation with Aunt Anne. Lounging in the drawing room, ostensibly reading while Ann focused her attention on a delicate painting, but realizing she hadn’t turned a page in several minutes. In her mind, Anne had pushed Ann up against the bookcase, or laid her out on the table in the dining room, or knelt in front of her on the sofa a hundred times. But now that it was an actual possibility, she felt almost overwhelmed. 

At least the first step was simple. Anne let Ann lead her out the door and then cut alongside her, tugging her by the hand as they raced down the staircase.


	2. Chapter 2

Anne paused at the staircase landing, turning to Ann, and gripped her shoulders tightly, holding her at arm’s length just for a moment. 

Ann was smiling openly, her face still flushed, her eyes wide and sparkling and full of mischief. Anne’s heart drummed against her ribcage. Ann was beautiful, alive, hers, at Shibden, to stay. In spite of the frustrations and adjustments that had come with living together, Anne didn’t let a day go by without remembering how close she had come to not having this. 

She brought Ann to her and kissed her, wrapping her hands around her slender waist. Ann gripped her elbows and let herself be backed up against the wall behind them. She sighed as Anne began pressing kisses along her jawline and down the side of her neck. Anne had to remind herself to take quick glances around—she was never completely at ease except behind a locked door, and perhaps not even then, not quite. But she knew she wanted to hear Ann’s moans breaking the stillness of the empty house. The thought stirred a pleasurable heat in the pit of her stomach.

She reached back and took Ann’s hands, turning them in hers until their fingers were intertwined, and brought her mouth to Ann’s ear. She lifted Ann’s hands up above her head and pressed them firmly against the wall. Ann’s fingers tightened around hers as Anne rocked her hips forward. “What if,” she murmured, “I took you right here?” She felt Ann’s breath leave her body in a rush, and eagerly pressed into her further. She kissed the outer edge of Ann’s ear. “Would you have any objection?” Over their heads, she worked the strong fingers of her right hand around both of Ann’s wrists, pressing them into the woodwork, bringing her left down to cradle Ann’s cheek as she kissed her soft mouth again. “Or would I have to persuade you?” she whispered, and grazed Ann’s lower lip with her teeth. 

“No objections,” Ann breathed softly against Anne’s lips. “Although I do have one question.”

“And that is…?”

Ann tilted her head up as best she could to Anne’s ear. “Why are we whispering?”

Anne chuckled at that, and emboldened her voice. “Well, I hope you won’t be whispering in a few minutes,” she said, reaching down with her left hand and working Ann’s skirt up her leg, gathering the material as she went. 

Soon, however, Anne was having difficulties. The heavy skirt, bunched over her arm, kept trying to slip down as she fumbled her way to the slit in Ann’s drawers. Ann was trying to be helpful, widening her stance, but that made her sink lower down the wall and the angle became more challenging. Ann began to giggle and Anne made a noise of frustration. Ann began to shift to her left, but Anne clasped her wrists tightly. “No you don’t, Ann,” she began. Ann looked at her impishly and then down at the stairs next to them. “Are you sure? I think there’s a better way here.” Ann shuffled them slowly over and stepped up to the first stair. “Ah,” Anne breathed appreciatively, as her angle improved. “Excellent. Much better idea, good thinking.” 

“Well, as you say, I’m not just a pretty – ohhh,” Ann gasped, as Anne’s clever fingers found the slit in her drawers, now very damp. “Exactly what I hoped to find,” Anne said greedily as she slipped two fingers inside, drawing another moan from her wife. She began driving into her slowly, pulling out unhurriedly and taking her time thrusting back in again. Ann’s hands clenched into fists above Anne’s steady grip. Anne looked directly into her eyes, daring her to look away. She timed her thrusts so that Ann’s every breath was a helpless moan, increasing in pitch; in between, words fell from Anne’s lips and resonated in the staircase. 

“I want you to think of this… every time you come home to Shibden...” She set her thumb against Ann’s clit and began stroking it firmly as she took up a faster tempo. “I want you to go red… every time you walk up these stairs… every time you come down for dinner,” she continued, raising her voice over Ann’s moans and gasps for air. Ann’s hands were beginning to go numb even as she grew more and more aroused at the sound of Anne’s voice. She could feel the inevitable surge at her center, radiating outward. Her body tensed as she expected the wave to crest at any second, and yet it continued to build dizzyingly under Anne’s adept touch, stealing the breath from her lungs. 

“I want this hall to know you the way I know you… hear you the way I hear you,” Anne rumbled, thrusting and pressing rhythmically. Ann shuddered as longing welled up inside her unexpectedly at the words, at odds with Anne’s keen desire. “Anne,” she cried out, her hands beginning to shake. “Please--“

“Please what?” Anne’s dark eyes locked onto Ann’s bright blue ones. “Tell me.”

Bold, passionate words died on Ann’s tongue. “Please let me hold onto you,” she pleaded. 

For a fraction of a second, softness flickered across Anne’s face, but it seemed only to ignite her passion anew. Anne let go of her hands and wrapped her aching arm around the younger woman’s back. Ann’s hands fell immediately to her wife’s shoulders as she clung to her like wreckage in a storm. Anne brought her mouth to Ann’s neck, fierce love pouring out in kisses and groans with every deep thrust. She nearly lost control herself as she felt the soft, slick muscles contracting around her fingers and heard Ann’s throes of pleasure echoing in the hall. Ann finally fell into Anne’s arms completely, sagging against her as her cries softened and slowed to deep sighs. 

Anne withdrew her hand, wet with Ann’s release, and settled them both down on the step, drying her fingers and palm as discreetly as she could under the hem of her skirt as she put her other arm around Ann’s shoulders. She looked out over the banister at the Lister Lions, the carvings seemingly standing guard against intruders. She closed her eyes as she felt Ann reach up to kiss her cheek and temple. Ann’s hand crept up to turn her chin towards her, kissing her mouth softly and slowly. When Anne opened her eyes again, Ann was smiling, her tongue peeking out between her teeth. 

Ann cocked an eyebrow. “So. The staircase.”

“Mm. Splendid,” Anne sighed.

“Interesting choice.… And then?” Ann tilted her head impishly. 

Anne drew a shaky breath. “And then what?”

“Well, where else?” Ann stood up, squeezing Anne’s hand and grinning. 

Anne shook her head. “Mm-mm. I think it’s your turn to reveal a secret or two.”

Ann bit her lip even as her grin widened, and pulled Anne to her feet, leading her down the last steps and away from the staircase.


	3. Chapter 3

They didn’t have far to go as it turned out. Ann led Anne to the deserted dining room and to her high-backed chair closest to the window, pulled it out from the table, and pushed her down gently into it. 

She then pulled out her customary seat to Anne’s left, sat down, and leaned back to regard her thoughtfully. The only sound was the ticking of the clock and the rustling of Anne’s sleeves as she kept shifting position restlessly. 

“What are you thinking about?” Anne asked finally.

“I’m thinking about how often I’ve suffered right here in this chair while you sat there like a pitiless king holding court,” Ann offered bluntly.

Anne looked at her in surprise. “What on earth do you mean?”

Ann laid one arm across the table, drawing imaginary circles on its polished surface idly with one finger. “You sit there, commanding the conversation when it suits you, brooding when it doesn’t. You get onto some subject or other and your eyes get… bright. And wild. And I can’t decide whether I want to watch you rhapsodize about astronomy or history or Paris, or… kiss you until you can’t breathe.”

The words themselves took Anne’s breath away. She knew they were utterly alone, and that even if someone returned early, this particular tableau was hardly compromising. But hearing Ann speak that boldly in this room was pleasantly disorienting. “I see,” she started a bit hoarsely.

“Do you?” Ann said, tilting her head slightly and reaching one foot out, tracing Anne’s boot with the toe of her slipper. “Yes, you do, don’t you. Every time we sit down here, you know exactly what effect you’re having on me. I know you’re aware, even when you’re not looking at me.” She worked her foot up Anne’s skirt to the inside of her knee, and pushed outward slightly. Anne’s eyes darkened a little as she moved her legs apart, the lap of her skirt becoming wide and taut. 

“And besides that, of course, there’s the fact that I have to watch you during a meal.” Anne suppressed a groan as Ann removed her foot, got up from her chair, went to the sideboard where the Madeira bottle sat, and poured a small glass of the dark amber liquid. “You and the way you toy with your drinks.” Ann took a sip, then turned to gaze calmly at Anne. She flicked one finger across the lip of the glass several times and felt a bit of a thrill when she saw Anne’s eyes widen just a little. “I suppose you think you’re being subtle and clever,” she continued, taking a few steps towards Anne’s chair, reaching across her and placing the glass next to her right hand where it rested on the table. 

“Are you suggesting I’m not?” Anne rejoined with a smile. Ann’s neck was so close as she leaned over her chair that Anne could feel the warmth radiating from her skin.

Ann turned, leaning the backs of her thighs against the table, inserting her feet between Anne’s boots. Her face was framed by golden curls slightly mussed from their encounter on the staircase. “You’re about as subtle as a foghorn,” she said matter-of-factly. Anne scoffed and opened her mouth to protest, but Ann bent down quickly and smothered her retort with a kiss that tasted of madeira. She brought one hand down to trace the column of Anne’s throat and deepened the kiss. A jolt ran through her as she felt and heard a rumbling hum under her fingers. She leaned back against the table again. Anne reached for the glass with one hand and placed the other on Ann’s hip.

Ann jutted her chin at the glass. “You know full well when you do that with your fingers, I’m thinking about what you’re going to do with them later on.” 

Anne took a sip and smirked. “The thought had occurred to me.” She ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek as she fiddled with the glass. 

Ann rolled her eyes. “And then there’s that.”

“What?”

“That,” Ann said, and poked her tongue in her cheek in perfect imitation of her wife. “Oh, and the way you eat figs.”

Anne raised an eyebrow. “Figs?”

“Figs. And pears. And oranges. Pomegranates. Dates. Nuts. Anything, really.”

“I happen to enjoy food a great deal,” Anne said defensively. 

“You were fiddling with those grapes the other night and Marian’s eyes rolled so hard I thought she’d fall out of her chair.”

Anne laughed and took another sip. “I don’t care what Marian thinks. I only care what you think.”

“I think you’re a terrible tease,” Ann said bluntly. “Awful. Monstrous. Tyrannical.” 

“Really, Ann, just one word would do.”

“That’s rather rich coming from you, Miss Lister.” 

Anne couldn’t help the shiver of arousal at the formal title leaving Ann’s lips. She drained the glass and set it aside. “Are you saying you want me to stop doing those things?”

“Did I say that?” Ann shook her head. “You’ll never stop teasing me that way when we’re all sitting at dinner together. But nobody’s here now, are they?” Ann put her hands on the table behind her and hoisted herself up onto its surface, her legs swinging down in front of Anne’s lap. 

Anne ran her hands up and down the sides of Ann’s thighs, smoothing the fabric of her dress, never losing eye contact with her. She squeezed just above her knees before pressing them apart slightly. Then she leaned back in her chair and methodically rolled up first one loose shirtsleeve, then the other, while Ann watched every tiny movement of the muscles in her forearms.

Anne wet her lips a bit nervously, taking another few glances out the windows behind her. She knew how difficult it was to see in through those windows, especially in the daytime; the panes were old and the light was bright outside, but still…. 

And yet, looking back at Ann, she had to laugh – she had that same carefree, bold, mischievous look on her face she’d had back up in her study. Anne’s fingers dropped down to the hem of Ann’s skirt and she worked her hands up underneath it. Anne’s breath hissed through her teeth when Ann slyly brought her feet up onto the ornately carved armrests on either side of the chair and leaned back on her elbows on the table. She pushed Ann’s dress up over her thighs. Her drawers were still damp, but as Anne found the opening of the garment and drew its edges apart, she could see the shine of fresh arousal at Ann’s centre. 

Anne didn’t waste time teasing. She leaned forward quickly, bringing her face to Ann’s sex, and curled her tongue to gather as much of the new wetness as she could, reveling in the slick texture and in Ann’s shivering sighs. The sound of her own tongue and lips as she tasted and enjoyed her made tendrils of heat rise through Anne’s core into her belly. She shifted in her chair as she could feel herself soaking through her own drawers. 

The edges of Ann’s vision began to blur as her body thrilled to the feel of Anne’s tongue exploring her, circling and flicking her clit gently. A little too gently – Ann reached a hand down to the back of Anne’s head, where her dark hair had escaped in wisps from her severe bun. Anne smiled, humming in response to the pressure, and Ann felt the strokes of her tongue become firmer and more insistent, finding a rhythm that drew breath from her in deeper moans. Ann’s elbows gave way, and her shoulders and head fell back against the table. She found herself looking up at the ceiling, a view she had never bothered to notice in this room and had never particularly expected to spend time looking at from this angle. She suddenly couldn’t suppress a chuckle, coming out of the fog of desire long enough to remember again where she was and why. 

“Hmmm?” Anne pulled away for a moment, her dark eyes inquisitive, her lips shining. 

Ann covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get distracted, it’s just…” She giggled again. “This is so –“

Anne stared at her levelly, then lifted one of Ann’s feet off the armrest and set it on the edge of the table. “So….? What? This was your idea, if I recall correctly.” Anne reached for the other foot, stroking Ann’s ankle with her fingernails before placing it on the table on her other side. Ann was suddenly more exposed, and laughter dried up in her throat as she saw Anne’s eyes glitter darkly. 

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No – Lord, Anne, no,” Ann answered quickly. 

“Good,” Anne smiled. “Because I wasn’t finished.” She wrapped her hands around Ann’s ankles and bent her head again. She began slowly, easing Ann back into a rhythm. She ran her tongue up one side of Ann’s swollen clit and down the other, tilting her head to reverse the pattern. She shifted to licking and sucking her gently, increasing the pressure in response to Ann’s gasps of encouragement. She let her own delight escape in murmurs of pleasure that pushed Ann’s arousal back up to a peak; Anne felt the younger woman’s legs begin to tremble and wrapped her arms around Ann’s thighs to steady her. The tender, possessive act in combination with the hard swirls of Anne’s tongue sent Ann tumbling over the edge again. Her moans flew up to the ceiling interspersed with Anne’s throatier growls. Ann’s leg muscles went limp, and her feet slid off the table into Anne’s lap. After catching her breath, Ann propped herself up on an elbow again. Anne raised an eyebrow at her wife, delicately picked up the hem of Ann’s petticoat and dabbed at her chin and mouth with it, then reached around Ann and pulled her, laughing, off the table onto her feet, rising to put her arms around her waist.

“There, now.” Anne smiled with satisfaction. “No disrespect to Cordingley, but that’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted at this table.” 

Ann dropped her face into her hands. “I think I’ve just made the problem worse.”

Anne frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ann looked at her reproachfully. “Before, I could only _imagine_ what you were thinking while you were toying with your food and licking your lips at the table. Now I’ll know _exactly_ what you’re thinking.” 

Anne smiled. “And you’ll never, ever forget, either.” 

Ann pulled the taller woman down by her collar into a deep kiss, their bodies pressed tightly together. Ann let her hips sway forward into Anne’s, and heard the slightest catch in her wife’s breath. She pulled back and searched her face, tucking stray hairs behind her ears. 

“How much time do you think we have?” Ann said in a low voice. Anne reached between their bodies for the pocket watch and examined it. “Not much.”

Ann pushed her hips against Anne’s again. “And how much time do you think you’ll need?” she asked, her lips finding the hollow of Anne’s throat. Anne’s voice sounded a little choked as she answered, “Not much.” 

Ann kissed Anne’s throat and backed away again. “Good. Where to next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, dear readers, for the wonderful comments and encouragement. Probably one more chapter after this. Where do you think they should go next? :) I have my own idea but would love to hear yours!


End file.
